Magical History Tour

25th Anniversary Welcome Center Looks Back . . . and
Into The Future of Walt Disney World Resort

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- An early design model of what would
become the soaring towers and turrets of the landmark Cinderella
Castle . . . zany Country Bears in their "embryo" form as study models
. . . historical photos of Walt Disney surveying the site for his
"Florida Project" and of brother Roy at the Magic Kingdom dedication .
. . renderings and three-dimensional depictions of Disney's Animal
Kingdom, the Disney Cruise Line and Sports Complex . . . an all-new
side-kick for Mickey Mouse -- Ms. Crystal Ball -- who can take people
places where no one has yet gone . . .

These are some of the sights and sounds recalling more than a
quarter century of Walt Disney World history and taking a glance at
what the future holds for the popular destination resort, all featured
together at the 25th Anniversary Welcome Center, opening Oct. 1.
Located in the Town Square area of the Magic Kingdom, the Welcome
Center also encourages guests to recall their own first visit to Walt
Disney World Resort and "announce" it with a date -- 1971 through 1996
-- affixed to a "guest of honor" badge. During a visit to the Welcome
Center, guests also can claim a commemorative lithograph celebrating
the 25th anniversary.

The feature show of the Welcome Center is "Mickey's Magic
Workshop," a motion picture sneak peek at the new magic being created
for the Vacation Kingdom. As the story goes, the Sorcerer reminds
Mickey Mouse that he needs to have all the magic ready for arriving
guests.

Mickey's a bit befuddled . . . until he discovers, buried in a
trunk, Ms. Crystal Ball with her sharp-edged wit and well-rounded
vision of the future. She becomes Mickey's -- and guests' -- guide on
a magnificent tour of adventures yet to come.

After the movie, guests can browse along a "highway to the future"
lined with models and renderings depicting some of the projects in
development. Highlights include a 1:200 scale model of the Disney
Magic, Disney Cruise Line's first ship, and a site model of Disney's
Animal Kingdom -- a 500-acre environment for wildlife adventures that
is so huge the 16-foot by 16-foot depiction is able to capture only
one-third of it. The Tree of Life, which will be a visual landmark at
Disney's Animal Kingdom, is portrayed as a 6-foot by 6 1/2-foot model
-- a scale that belies its enormity (140 feet tall with a canopy 150
feet across -- almost as massive as Spaceship Earth at Epcot).

Prior to entering the theater for "Mickey's Magic Workshop," guests
are on a "memory lane" of historical photos, models and memorabilia
dating from the mid-'60s to the opening of the Walt Disney World Magic
Kingdom on Oct. 1, 1971. Maquettes -- or study models -- of
characters that would become popular in early Magic Kingdom
attractions such as Country Bear Jamboree, Jungle Cruise and the
Mickey Mouse Revue; a late-'60s castle model used to give designers a
sense of the scale of the 185-foot-high Cinderella Castle; opening-day
tickets, commemorative coins, memorabilia, sketches and photographs
all capture the history of Walt Disney World Resort. The exhibition
also includes video recollections of opening day by guests and
celebrities who participated.

The 25th Anniversary Welcome Center will be a feature of the
15-month celebration, which begins Oct. 1 and continues through
December 1997.

For more information about Walt Disney World Resorts, call
407-824-4321 or visit their home page on the
World Wide Web. For reservations, call 407-W-DISNEY or your travel agent.

If you have any updates to changes at Walt Disney World, please Email and let me know.